A portly, near constantly smiling man with a doughy, clean shaven face in the manner of military protocol. His head is likewise shaved short, his dark hair poking out of the skin like tiny bristles. Heavy, being nearly three hundred pounds, he nevertheless moves with surprising agility in the course of his duties, his bulk combined with a bulky uniform hiding what is clearly a thick layer of 'Navy muscle' beneath his pudgy exterior. His eyes are deep set, but bright, full of laughter and intelligence at most times. On the rare occasion that he finds cause to be upset, a very dangerous twinkle finds its way into his gaze.

He is almost never without his mechanics jumpsuit, either stripped to the waist or fully zipped up. It is clear based on a casual glance that his is a filthy task, with sweat, oil, grease, lubricant and other strange stains marring or bleaching the thick coverall. Still, it always begins the day as a freshly laundered jumpsuit, free of any mark.

Burns, callouses, and other scars coat his hands in various degrees, whether from the course of work or violence is not clear, but Winford is extraordinarily blithe on the matter, merely shrugging.

Personality

Open, honest, gregarious and a great lover of food, Winford was and is a singularly popular man aboard the Caduceus, now called the Black Echo. Competent, efficient, and a tad eccentric(a trait seemingly ubiquitous of engineers), his professional ability and acumen cannot be doubted. Knowledge, tools (proper or no), and sweat are his greatest assets in his opinion. He scoffs at people who get hung up on details or procedure, preferring to handle a job in as quick and efficient a manner as possible, for good or ill. Like a well maintained engine, he functions well when the heat is on, working long hours with little in the way of rest, and always with at least half a smile.

What makes a ship fly through the black? Ask a scientist and you’ll get a research paper, peer reviewed if they’re smart. Ask a romantic and you’ll get a some gorram foolishness like ‘love.’ Ask chief engineer Winford Mao, and he’ll answer ‘Me.’

That’s not arrogance, far from it in fact. That’s a confidence born of years of hard work, good education, and natural expertise. A natural born ‘tinker’ Winford has been breaking and rebuilding damned near everything he can get his thick, heavy mitts on. Born into a burgeoning middle class on Jiangyin, Winford was the son of a mathematician and a baker. The youngest of three children, and therefore the most spoiled, Winford had an unfortunate snacking habit that his parent’s tacitly enabled, and very soon was the largest of three children. Another unfortunate side-effect of this childhood behavior was a rather vicious school experience; the role of the ‘fat boy’ was almost universally occupied by Winford from the ages of six to fourteen, when he graduated from ‘Fat Boy’ to ‘large enough to be a major problem for people who called him fat, boy.’

All of this Winford endured with the fortitude of a boulder enduring a rainstorm, not particularly caring one way or another what he was called, provided no one got handsy. Winford has always had a more ‘do’ attitude than ‘say’, and spent a great portion of his youth keeping in step with that view. If people would ‘say’ a thing, but not ‘do’ it, then they didn’t particularly register on his radar of problems. And so, whilst they ‘sayers’ were speaking, Big Mao was out doing; mathematics, physics, building, breaking, and only occasionally, exploding. And there was the one time a rogue rocket ended up on the school roof and there was a small fire.
He graduated his high school in the top five of his class, and received scholarships to attend universities off-world, most prestigious of which was the premier aerospace engineering college on Londinum. He jumped at the chance for a full ride and was first on the transport when the time came. Winford spent the trip filling notebooks, and by the time he had arrived, had already compiled a thesis. He didn’t get to present it for another six years, but at least it was done. And it gave him more time to work on passion projects.

His time at university was unequivocally some of the best years of his life, and a number of his ship designs and modifications were taken under advisement for new standard best practices, which was not only cause for personal elation, but granted him impressive professional leeway as well. The Alliance Navy tapped him in the tale end of his college career, offering not only an excellent posting aboard one of their newer vessels, but an automatic officer's commission post basic training, a cushy amount of plat for his salary, and a standing invitation to the annual design and development conferences held on the major Alliance worlds.

He signed the dotted line with very little deliberation and after his graduation ceremony, hopped the first transport to basic training. He struggled there, his physical skills being less well developed than his mental ones, but he bore it with the same placid stoicism as his childhood years. Half a year later, he had his prize; a newly minted Longbow class. With tensions between the Browncoats and the Alliance waxing, it was only a short time after this that Winford found himself deployed to the hot zones.

In the war that followed, Winford managed to rack up a number of commendations and awards. He even received a design credit, and attendant promotion, for the new fast attack vessel the Alliance debuted at Sturges. It secured him enough clout to request a transfer from the Longbow to a smaller, more personal vessel called the Caduceus. There he found a ship that he could make his own; tweak, tinker and modify to his hearts content, provided no one paid too close attention.

Other Notes

Friendly, but will murder you with a wrench of you threaten his ship.

OOC

Violence: Rock on

Erotica: No problem

Contact: email, pm or discord. Shoutbox is fine.

2517, The Unification War has been over for a decade and Miranda is still a secret. Into The Black is an Alternate Universe Firefly & Serenity fandom roleplaying game. It centers around independent crews of different ships which travel all over the 'verse created by Joss Whedon.